Ophir agrees to be bought by Medco in sweetened bid

BENGALURU: London-listed Ophir Energy Plc said it agreed to be bought by Indonesian oil and gas group Medco for a sweetened cash bid of £408.4mil (US$539mil) after previously agreeing to a lower offer.

Under the terms, Ophir shareholders will receive 57.5 pence per share in cash, the companies said in a joint statement. That is up from the previously agreed 55 pence per share. The increased offer comes after the Financial Times reported that hedge fund Petrus Advisers, which owns 3.94 % of Ophir, planned to vote against Medco’s bid because it undervalued the company. Petrus in February had called for alternatives to Medco’s buyout offer and asked the company to put Petrus-backed directors in charge of overseeing the proposed changes.